Image forming apparatus and control method

ABSTRACT

An image forming apparatus communicates with another device and includes a processor that controls the communication. A control unit controls the apparatus to operate in one of at least a first power saving state, a second power saving state, and a normal state. In the first power saving state, the apparatus is controlled so that an image forming unit, an image reading unit, and the control unit are not activated, and a communication device is activated. In the second power saving state, the apparatus is controlled so that at least one of the image forming unit and the image reading unit are not activated, and the communication device and the control unit are activated. In the normal state, the apparatus is controlled so that at least the image forming unit, the image reading unit, the communication device, and the control unit are activated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/924,978, filed on Jul. 9, 2020, which is based upon and claims thebenefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-174693,filed on Sep. 25, 2019, the entire contents of each of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to an image formingapparatus and a control method thereof.

BACKGROUND

The reduction of power consumption is a major issue for image formingapparatuses. Therefore, various techniques for reducing powerconsumption in image forming apparatuses have been proposed. However,there is still a demand for reducing power consumption to a greaterextent.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an imageforming system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to anembodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a communication device.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating aspects of an overall operation of animage forming system.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processing in a normal state.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing in a second power savingstate.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating processing in a first power savingstate.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating aspects of processing of acommunication device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments provide an image forming apparatus and a control method thatcan reduce power consumption in an image forming apparatus.

In general, according to one embodiment, an image forming apparatusincludes an image forming unit, an image reading unit, a communicationdevice, and a controller. The image forming unit forms an image on asheet using a developing material. The image reading unit reads an imageon a sheet. The communication device communicates with another deviceand includes a processor that controls the communication with the otherdevice. The control unit controls the image forming apparatus to operatein a first power saving state, a second power saving state, and a normalstate. In the first power saving state, the image forming apparatus iscontrolled so that the image forming unit, the image reading unit, andthe control unit are not activated and the communication device isactivated. In the second power saving state, the image forming apparatusis controlled so that at least one of the image forming unit and theimage reading unit are not activated and the communication device andthe control unit are activated. In the normal state, the image formingapparatus is controlled so that at least the image forming unit, theimage reading unit, the communication device, and the control unit areactivated.

Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus and a control method accordingto certain example embodiments will be described with reference to thedrawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example ofthe image forming system 500 according to the embodiment. The imageforming system 500 includes an image forming apparatus 100 and a userterminal 300. The image forming apparatus 100 is an apparatus that formsan image on a sheet. The image forming apparatus 100 is, for example, amultifunction peripheral (MFP). The user terminal 300 is an informationprocessing apparatus that transmits an image forming request to theimage forming apparatus 100. A communication device 200 of the imageforming apparatus 100 and the user terminal 300 communicate via a wiredconnection or wirelessly (e.g., radio frequency communications). Theuser terminal 300 transmits various instructions to the image formingapparatus 100 via the communication device 200. For example, the userterminal 300 may transmit search data or a beacon. Specific examples ofsuch search data and beacons include signals defined by Bluetooth™. Theuser terminal 300 may transmit an image forming instruction or an imagereading instruction. Hereinafter, each device will be described indetail.

FIG. 2 is a hardware block diagram of the image forming apparatus 100according to the embodiment. First, the image forming apparatus 100 willbe described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The imageforming apparatus 100 includes an image reading unit 10, a display 110,a control panel 120, an image forming unit 130, a sheet storage unit140, a storage unit 150, a communication unit 160, an external interface170, and a control unit 180.

The image forming apparatus 100 forms an image on a sheet using adeveloper such as a toner or ink. When the developer is a toner, thedeveloper is fixed on the sheet by heating. When the developer is ink,the developer is applied to the sheet to form an image on the sheet. Thesheet is, for example, a sheet of paper or a label. The sheet may be anysheet as long as the image forming apparatus 100 can form an image onthe surface thereof.

The image reading unit 10 is, for example, a scanner. The image readingunit 10 reads image information to be read based on brightness anddarkness of light. The image reading unit 10 records the read imageinformation. The recorded image information may be stored in the storageunit 150 of the image forming apparatus 100, or may be transmitted toanother information processing apparatus via a network. The recordedimage information may be image-formed on a sheet by the image formingunit 130.

The display 110 is an image display device such as a liquid crystaldisplay and an organic electro-luminescence (EL) display. The display110 displays various information related to the image forming apparatus100.

The control panel 120 includes a plurality of buttons. The control panel120 receives a user operation. The control panel 120 outputs a signalcorresponding to an operation performed by the user to the control unit(the control unit 180 described later) of the image forming apparatus100. The display 110 and the control panel 120 may be configured as anintegrated touch panel.

The image forming unit 130 forms an image on a sheet based on the imageinformation generated by the image reading unit 10 or the received imageinformation. The image forming unit 130 includes, for example, adeveloping device, a transfer device, and a fixing device. A sheetconveyance path is formed in the image forming unit 130. The sheet to beprocessed is conveyed by rollers provided along the conveyance path. Animage is formed on the sheet in the course of conveyance.

The image forming unit 130 forms an image by, for example, the followingprocessing. The developing device of the image forming unit 130 forms anelectrostatic latent image on a photosensitive drum based on the imageinformation. The developing device of the image forming unit 130 forms avisible image by attaching a developer to the electrostatic latentimage.

The transfer device of the image forming unit 130 transfers a visibleimage onto the sheet. The fixing device of the image forming unit 130fixes a visible image on the sheet by heating and pressing the sheet.The sheet on which an image is formed may be a sheet stored in the sheetstorage unit 140 or a manually fed sheet.

The sheet storage unit 140 stores sheets to be used for image formationin the image forming unit 130.

The storage unit 150 is configured using a storage device such as amagnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The storageunit 150 stores data required when the image forming apparatus 100operates. The storage unit 150 may temporarily store or save data of animage formed in the image forming apparatus 100.

The communication unit 160 is configured using a communicationinterface. The communication unit 160 communicates with another device(for example, an information terminal such as a personal computer) via anetwork such as a local area network (LAN).

The external interface 170 communicates with another device by beingconnected to an interface provided in the other device. The externalinterface 170 may be configured using a universal serial bus (USB), maybe configured using a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI™), ormay be configured using another technology, for example. The imageforming apparatus 100 and the communication device 200 are connected viathe external interface 170.

The control unit 180 includes a processor, such as a central processingunit (CPU), and a memory. In some contexts, the control unit may bereferred to as a controller 180. The control unit 180 reads and executesa program stored in the storage unit 150. The control unit 180 controlsthe operation of each device provided in the image forming apparatus100. For example, upon receiving an image forming instruction from thecommunication device 200, the control unit 180 may control the imageforming apparatus 100 to form an image on a sheet according to thereceived instruction. For example, upon receiving an image readinginstruction from the communication device 200, the control unit 180 maycontrol the image forming apparatus 100 to transmit the data of theimage read by the image reading unit 10 to the communication device 200that is the transmission source of the instruction.

The image forming apparatus 100 includes, as control states, at least afirst power saving state, a second power saving state, and a normalstate. In the first power saving state, at least the image forming unit130 and the control unit 180 are controlled to be not activated, and thecommunication device 200 is controlled to be activated. As a specificexample of the first power saving state, there is a so-called ‘deepsleep’.

In the second power saving state, at least the image reading unit 10and/or the image forming unit 130 are controlled to be not activated,and the communication device 200 and the control unit 180 are controlledto be activated. Specific examples of the second power saving stateinclude a power saving mode and a standby mode of a general imageforming apparatus.

In the normal state, at least the image reading unit 10 and/or the imageforming unit 130, the control unit 180, and the communication device 200are controlled to be activated. As a specific example of the normalstate, there is a state in which image formation is possible in ageneral image forming apparatus.

Next, image formation in the image forming apparatus 100 will bedescribed. There are at least two types of image forming processesexecuted by the image forming apparatus 100. Those two types of imageforming processes are sequential image formation and occasional imageformation. The sequential image formation is a specific example of asequential operation. The sequential image formation is image formationthat is scheduled to be executed immediately. An example of sequentialimage formation is a process in which image data or document data to beimage-formed and instruction data are transmitted to the image formingapparatus 100, and the image formation is immediately executed by theimage forming apparatus 100 and the sheet is output to a discharge tray.For example, a so-called general print instruction is an instruction forsequential image formation.

The occasional image formation is image formation that is not scheduledto be executed immediately upon receipt of a job. An example ofoccasional image formation is a process in which image data or documentdata to be image-formed and instruction data are transmitted to theimage forming apparatus 100, but the image formation is not executeduntil an execution condition is satisfied, and the execution of theimage formation is on standby. As a specific example of the executioncondition, for example, there is a condition that the user who transmitsthe instruction data instructs the execution of image formation on thecontrol panel 120 of the image forming apparatus 100. As a specificexample of the execution condition, for example, there is a conditionthat a wireless signal including the user ID of the user who transmitsthe instruction data is received by the image forming apparatus 100. Theexecution condition may be designed as another condition rather thanreceipt of a user ID.

Next, image reading in the image forming apparatus 100 will bedescribed. There are at least two types of image reading processesexecuted in the image forming apparatus 100. These two types of imagereading processes are sequential image reading and occasional imagereading. The sequential image reading is a specific example of thesequential operation. The sequential image reading is image reading thatis scheduled to be executed immediately. An example of a sequentialimage reading process is a process in which a sheet to be read is set inthe image reading unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 100, theinstruction data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 100, andthe image reading is immediately executed in the image forming apparatus100. In this case, the read image may be recorded in the storage unit150 of the image forming apparatus 100, or may be transmitted to anotherdevice via the communication unit 160 or the communication device 200.For example, a so-called general image reading instruction is aninstruction for performing the sequential image reading process.

The occasional image reading is image reading in which the execution ofimage reading is not scheduled. An example of an occasional imagereading process is a process of transmitting image data already storedin the storage unit 150 of the image forming apparatus 100 to thecommunication apparatus 200 or another designated information processingapparatus. In addition, any process that does not operate the imagereading unit 10 immediately may be defined as an occasional imagereading process.

FIG. 3 is a hardware block diagram of the communication device 200.Next, the details of the communication device 200 will be described. Thecommunication device 200 includes a power supply interface 210, acommunication module 220, an external interface 230, and a processor240.

The power supply interface 210 supplies power to a component of theimage forming apparatus 100 (e.g., the communication device 200) bybeing connected to a power supply. For example, the power supplyinterface 210 supplies power to the communication module 220 and theprocessor 240 of the image forming apparatus 100 (e.g., thecommunication device 200). The power supply to which the power supplyinterface 210 is connected is a power supply capable of supplying powereven when the image forming apparatus 100 is in the first power savingstate or the second power saving state. Therefore, even when the imageforming apparatus 100 is in the first power saving state or the secondpower saving state, the communication device 200 can receive power andoperate.

The communication module 220 is a module that communicates with anotherdevice. The communication module 220 may be, for example, a wirelesscommunication module or a wired communication module. For example, ifthe communication module 220 is configured as a wireless communicationmodule, communication using Bluetooth™ may be performed. For example, ifthe communication module 220 is configured as a wired communicationmodule, communication using a Universal Serial Bus (USB) may beperformed.

The communication module 220 is configured using a communicationinterface. The communication unit 160 communicates with another device(for example, an information terminal such as a personal computer) via anetwork such as a local area network (LAN).

The external interface 230 communicates with another device by beingconnected to an interface provided in another device. The externalinterface 170 may be configured using USB, may be configured usingHDMI™, or may be configured using another technology, for example. Theimage forming apparatus 100 and the communication device 200 areconnected via the external interface 230.

The processor 240 is a processor such as a CPU. The processor 240operates according to the data received via the communication module220. If data of a first communication, which is a predetermined type ofcommunication, is received, the processor 240 responds to the data ofthe first communication. On the other hand, if data of a secondcommunication, which is a communication of a type different from thefirst communication, is received, the processor 240 does not respond tothe data of the second communication. Instead, the processor 240 outputsan activation signal, which is a signal for activating the control unit180 of the image forming apparatus 100, via the external interface 230.The control unit 180 of the image forming apparatus 100 is activated inresponse to receiving the activation signal. The activation signal mayinclude a signal instructing to operate in the second power saving stateafter activation. The activation signal may include a signal instructingto operate in a normal state after activation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a specific example of the flow of theentire operation of the image forming system 500. First, when the powerof the image forming apparatus 100 is turned on (ACT 101), the controlunit 180 is activated (ACT 102). After that, an activation signal isoutput from the control unit 180, and the communication device 200 isactivated according to the activation signal (ACT 103). Further, thecontrol unit 180 activates the image reading unit 10 and the imageforming unit 130 (ACT 104). Thereafter, the control unit 180 controlsthe image forming apparatus 100 in the normal state.

After that, until a predetermined designated time (referred to as the“second state designated time” or “second designated time”) elapseswithout performance of a predetermined operation (NO in ACT 105), thecontrol unit 180 controls the image forming apparatus 100 to be in thenormal state. On the other hand, if the second state designated timeelapses without performance of the predetermined operation (YES in ACT105), the control unit 180 controls the image forming apparatus 100 tobe in the second power saving state. For example, the control unit 180turns off the image reading unit 10 and the image forming unit 130 (ACT106). With such control, the image forming apparatus 100 enters thesecond power saving state. The predetermined operation is, for example,an operation on the control panel 120 or an operation for receiving animage forming instruction via a network.

After that, until a predetermined designated time (referred to as a“first state designated time” or a “first designated time”) elapseswithout performance of a predetermined operation (NO in ACT 107), thecontrol unit 180 controls the image forming apparatus 100 to be in thesecond power saving state. On the other hand, if the first designatedtime elapses without performing the predetermined operation (YES in ACT107), the control unit 180 controls the image forming apparatus 100 tobe in the first power saving state. For example, the control unit 180turns off the control unit 180 (ACT 108). With such control, the imageforming apparatus 100 enters the first power saving state. In the firstpower saving state, more power consumption can be saved than in thesecond power saving state.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a specific example of the processingin the normal state. When data is transmitted to the communicationdevice 200 (YES in ACT 201), the communication device 200 receives thedata (ACT 202). The communication device 200 transmits the received datato the control unit 180 (ACT 203). After that, the control unit 180performs a process based on the received data (ACT 204). The process atthis time includes an image forming process and an image readingprocess. If there is a change (information update) in the processperformed by the communication device 200 in the first power savingstate (YES in ACT 205), the processor 240 of the communication device200 records the updated information in the storage device (ACT 206). Thecontrol unit 180 of the image forming apparatus 100 also records theupdated information in the storage unit 150. Thereafter, when apredetermined second designated time elapses without performing apredetermined operation (YES in ACT 207), the control unit 180 controlsthe image forming apparatus 100 to be in the second power saving state.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a specific example of the processingin the second power saving state. When data is transmitted to thecommunication device 200 (YES in ACT 301), the communication device 200receives the data (ACT 302). The communication device 200 transmits thereceived data to the control unit 180 (ACT 303). After that, the controlunit 180 performs a process based on the received data (ACT 304). If theprocess to be executed includes a process using the image reading unit10 or the image forming unit 130 (YES in ACT 305), the control unit 180activates devices to be used (the image reading unit 10 or the imageforming unit 130) (ACT 306). As a result, the image forming apparatus100 shifts to the normal state.

If the process to be executed does not include any of the processesusing the image reading unit 10 and the process using the image formingunit 130 (NO in ACT 305), the control unit 180 does not activate theimage reading unit 10 and the image forming unit 130. As a result, theimage forming apparatus 100 remains in the second power saving state. Ifthere is a change (information update) in the process performed by thecommunication device 200 in the first power saving state (YES in ACT307), the processor 240 of the communication device 200 records theupdated information in the storage device (ACT 308). The control unit180 of the image forming apparatus 100 also records the updatedinformation in the storage unit 150. Thereafter, when a predeterminedfirst designated time elapses without performing a predeterminedoperation (YES in ACT 309), the control unit 180 controls the imageforming apparatus 100 to be in the first power saving state.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a specific example of the processingin the first power saving state. When data is transmitted to thecommunication device 200 (YES in ACT 401), the communication device 200receives the data (ACT 402). If the received data is content that can beresponded to by the communication device 200 (YES in ACT 403), theprocessor 240 of the communication device 200 performs a responseprocess (ACT 404).

Specific examples of content that can be responded to by thecommunication device 200 include a stored pattern of search data and abeacon. When the content of the search is content in which the responsecontent is stored in the communication device 200 in advance(hereinafter, referred to as a “stored pattern”), the communicationdevice 200 can respond. Since the response content of the beacon can beknown in advance, the communication device 200 can respond according tothe response content stored in advance.

If the received data is not content that can be responded to by thecommunication device 200 (NO in ACT 403), the processor 240 determineswhether or not the process instructed by the received data is asequential operation (ACT 405). If the process instructed by thereceived data is a sequential operation (YES in ACT 405), the processor240 activates the control unit 180, the image reading unit 10, and theimage forming unit 130 of the image forming apparatus 100 (ACT 406). Asa result, the image forming apparatus 100 shifts to the normal state. Ifthe process instructed by the received data is not a sequentialoperation (NO in ACT 405), the processor 240 activates the control unit180 of the image forming apparatus 100 (ACT 407). As a result, the imageforming apparatus 100 shifts to the second power saving state.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a specific example of the processingof the communication device 200. When a search response of a storedpattern (YES in ACT 501, YES in ACT 502) is received, the communicationdevice 200 responds with a predetermined response content (ACT 504). Thecommunication device 200 also responds with a predetermined responsecontent (ACT 504) when a beacon is received (NO in ACT 501, YES in ACT503).

On the other hand, when a search response that is not a stored patternis received (YES in ACT 501, NO in ACT 502), the communication device200 activates the control unit 180 of the image forming apparatus 100(ACT 505). As a result, the image forming apparatus 100 shifts to thesecond power saving state.

Further, when the communication device 200 receives data that is neithera search response nor a beacon (NO in ACT 501, NO in ACT 503), thecommunication device 200 determines whether or not the data is from theimage forming apparatus 100 to which the own device is connected(hereinafter simply referred to as the “own device source”) (ACT 506).If the data is not from the own device source (NO in ACT 506), theprocess for the received data is terminated. On the other hand, if thedata is from the own device source (YES in ACT 506), it is determinedwhether or not the transmission source of the received data is a trustedconnection destination (ACT 507). The trusted connection destination is,for example, a device registered in the communication device 200 inadvance as a connection destination. A specific example of such atrusted connection destination includes a Bluetooth-paired device. Ifthe connection destination cannot be trusted (NO in ACT 507), theprocessor 240 activates the control unit 180 of the image formingapparatus 100 (ACT 505). As a result, the image forming apparatus 100shifts to the second power saving state.

On the other hand, if the connection destination can be trusted, theprocessor 240 determines whether or not the process instructed by thereceived data is a sequential operation (ACT 508). If the processinstructed by the received data is a sequential operation (YES in ACT508), the processor 240 activates the control unit 180, the imagereading unit 10, and the image forming unit 130 of the image formingapparatus 100 (ACT 509). As a result, the image forming apparatus 100shifts to the normal state. If the process instructed by the receiveddata is not a sequential operation (NO in ACT 508), the processor 240activates the control unit 180 of the image forming apparatus 100 (ACT505). As a result, the image forming apparatus 100 shifts to the secondpower saving state.

The image forming system 500 configured as described above is controlledin at least three states of the first power saving state, the secondpower saving state that consumes more power than the first power savingstate but consumes less power than the normal state, and the normalstate. Therefore, the power consumption of the image forming apparatus100 can be further reduced as compared to conventional power savingmethods. For example, the power consumption can be further reduced ascompared with the case where the control is performed for only twostates (that is, the first power saving state and the normal state)since the image forming system 500 can additionally use the second powersaving state, and as a result, it is possible to suppress the powerconsumption even greater than in a case having only one power savingstate.

Further, in the image forming system 500, different control is performedaccording to the type of image formation even once an image forminginstruction is received. That is, when an instruction to execute asequential image formation is received, the state of the image formingapparatus 100 is controlled to operate in the normal state, but when aninstruction to execute an occasional image formation is received, thestate of the image forming apparatus 100 is controlled to operate in thesecond power saving state. As described above, even after an imageforming instruction is received, the image forming apparatus does notalways enter the normal state, but rather is controlled to operate inthe second power saving state with lower power consumption whenperforming the occasional image formation. Therefore, even when an imageforming instruction is received, power consumption can be furtherreduced by performing different control according to the type of imageformation being instructed/requested.

Further, in the image forming system 500, different control is performedafter receiving an image reading instruction according to the type ofimage that is being instructed. That is, when an instruction to executesequential image reading is received, the device is controlled tooperate in the normal state, but when an instruction to execute anoccasional image reading is received, the device is controlled tooperate in the second power saving state. As described above, even afteran image reading instruction is received, the image forming apparatusdoes not always enter the normal state, but rather is controlled tooperate in the second power saving state with lower power consumptionwhen performing the occasional image reading instead of the sequentialreading. Therefore, even when an image reading instruction is received,power consumption can be further reduced by performing different controlaccording to the type of image reading instructed/requested.

(Modification)

In some examples, the control unit 180 of the image forming apparatus100 may perform the control such that the image reading unit 10 and theimage forming unit 130 are always activated when the image formingapparatus 100 is controlled to be in the normal state. When the imageforming apparatus 100 is controlled to be in the normal state, thecontrol unit 180 may perform the control such that only thedevices/components that need to operate are activated. For example, whena sequential image forming instruction is input but a sequential imagereading instruction is not input, the control unit 180 may perform thecontrol to activate the image forming unit 130 but not activate theimage reading unit 10. For example, when a sequential image readinginstruction is input but a sequential image forming instruction is notinput, the control unit 180 may perform the control to activate theimage reading unit 10 but not activate the image forming unit 130.Further, when a sequential image forming instruction and a sequentialimage reading are input, the control unit 180 may perform the control toactivate both the image forming unit 130 and the image reading unit 10.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the inventions as described herein. Indeed, the novelembodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of otherforms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in theform of the embodiments described herein may be made without departingfrom the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and theirequivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as wouldfall within the scope and spirit of the inventions as described herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: an imageforming unit configured to form an image on a sheet using a developingmaterial; an image reading unit configured to read an image on a sheet;a communication device configured to communicate with a second deviceand including a processor configured to control communication with thesecond device; and a controller configured to control the image formingapparatus to operate in a first power saving state, a second powersaving state, and a normal state, wherein in the first power savingstate, the image forming unit, the image reading unit and the controllerare not activated, and the communication device is activated, in thesecond power saving state, at least one of the image forming unit andthe image reading unit are not activated, and the communication deviceand the controller are activated, and in the normal state, the imageforming unit, the image reading unit, the communication device, and thecontroller are activated, wherein the processor of the communicationdevice is configured to: output an activation signal to the controllerwhen in the first power saving state, the activation signal including asignal instructing the image forming apparatus to operate in the secondpower saving state after the activation signal is received or a signalinstructing the image forming apparatus to operate in the normal stateafter the activation signal is received.
 2. The image forming apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein when the image forming apparatus is in thesecond power saving state and instruction data is received by thecommunication device that includes an instruction to perform sequentialimage formation, the controller is configured to shift the image formingapparatus from the second power saving state to the normal state.
 3. Theimage forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the imageforming apparatus is in the second power saving state and instructiondata is received by the communication device that includes aninstruction to execute occasional image formation, the controller isconfigured to keep the image forming apparatus in the second powersaving state without shifting to the normal state.
 4. The image formingapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a storage unitconfigured to store data.
 5. The image forming apparatus according toclaim 1, further comprising: a control panel including a plurality ofbuttons configured to accept user input, wherein the controller isconfigured to control the image forming apparatus to be in the normalstate after one of the plurality of buttons is operated.
 6. A controlmethod for an image forming apparatus, including an image forming unitconfigured to form an image on a sheet using a developing material, animage reading unit configured to read an image on a sheet, acommunication device configured to communicate with a second device andincluding a processor configured to control the communication with thesecond device, and a controller configured to control the image formingapparatus to operate in a first power saving state, a second powersaving state, and a normal state, the control method comprising:controlling the image forming apparatus such that, when in the firstpower saving state, the image forming unit, the image reading unit andthe controller are not activated, and the communication device isactivated; controlling the image forming apparatus such that, when inthe second power saving state, at least one of the image forming unitand the image reading unit are not activated and the communicationdevice and the controller are activated; controlling the image formingapparatus such that, when in the normal state, the image forming unit,the image reading unit, the communication device, and the controller areactivated; and outputting an activation signal from the communicationdevice to the controller when in the first power saving state, theactivation signal including a signal instructing the image formingapparatus to operate in the second power saving state after theactivation signal is received or a signal instructing the image formingapparatus to operate in the normal state after the activation signal isreceived.
 7. The control method according to claim 6, furthercomprising: controlling the image forming apparatus such that, when theimage forming apparatus is in the second power saving state andinstruction data that includes an instruction to perform sequentialimage formation is received by the communication device that, the imageforming apparatus is shifted from the second power saving state to thenormal state.
 8. The control method of claim 6, further comprising:controlling the image forming apparatus such that, when the imageforming apparatus is in the second power saving state and instructiondata is received that includes an instruction to execute occasionalimage formation, the image forming apparatus is maintained in the secondpower saving state without shifting to the normal state.
 9. The controlmethod according to claim 6, wherein, when in the second power savingstate, both the image forming unit and the image reading unit are notactivated.
 10. The control method according to claim 6, furthercomprising: receiving an indication of a user actuating one of aplurality of buttons of a control panel of the image forming apparatus;and controlling the image forming apparatus to be in the normal stateafter receiving the indication.